San Diego’s long-running Del Cerro church fight has tipped in favor of the developers. On Wednesday, San Diego Superior Court denied a neighborhood group’s legal challenge, clearing the way for a planned mega church in Del Cerro to move ahead.
The All People’s Church proposal calls for a roughly 54,000-square-foot sanctuary with seating for about 900 people, plus a two-level parking garage on a six-acre site above Interstate 8 near College Avenue. Neighbors who have battled the project for years say it will swamp local streets and erase land that had previously been eyed for housing.
Project by the numbers
The environmental filing for the so-called Light Project lists a 54,476-square-foot sanctuary and a roughly 71,010-square-foot, two-level parking structure on an approximately six-acre parcel, according to CEQAnet. City staff relied on weekday trip projections that kept the project’s weekday vehicle count below the threshold that would trigger a full traffic study, a detail that later became a flashpoint in court.
The San Diego Planning Commission recommended approval of the plans in 2023 before the dispute shifted to City Hall, as reported by ABC 10News.
Council flip, lawsuits and local opposition
The project first hit a wall at the City Council in January 2024, when councilmembers rejected the proposal. All People’s Church responded by suing the city on federal religious-land-use grounds, arguing its rights were being violated.
Two political months later, the council flipped its position and approved the project in March 2025, a move that followed the federal lawsuit and ratcheted up neighborhood anger. That reversal set the stage for Save Del Cerro’s counteroffensive and the CEQA petition that landed in Superior Court, after the council reversed course and approved the project.
Judge’s ruling and what it means
On Wednesday, San Diego Superior Court Judge Carolyn M. Caietti denied Save Del Cerro’s petition, finding that the environmental review complied with CEQA and that the city had adequately addressed community impacts, as reported by Times of San Diego. Save Del Cerro attorney Cory Briggs told the outlet his client will now decide whether to appeal.
With the court ruling final, the project moves toward the permitting phase unless an appeal is filed. In practical terms, that means city staff can start treating the church’s plans as viable and move them through the usual bureaucratic grinder, even as the legal drama may not be over.
Neighbors’ concerns remain
Opponents argue the central problem has not gone away. They say the environmental review leaned on weekday traffic numbers even though Sunday worship services are expected to generate intense vehicle peaks, and they contend the city should have taken a closer look at those patterns. Save Del Cerro has hammered that point in public filings and online materials.
The traffic estimates and safety issues at the College Avenue and Interstate 8 ramps became a major focus when the case reached court, according to coverage by Courthouse News Service. Church leaders and planners counter that mitigation measures, including the parking structure and the scheduling of services, will soften the blow on nearby streets.
Legal takeaway
The ruling clears the immediate CEQA hurdle but it does not close the book on the legal fight. Either side could appeal, and the church’s earlier federal suit over alleged First Amendment and RLUIPA violations helped drive the council’s 2025 reversal, according to Times of San Diego.
Judge Caietti found that the administrative record showed a reasoned environmental analysis, which is the legal standard that often favors agencies when the paperwork is complete and internally consistent. The decision now sits as a potential touchstone in San Diego for future fights over religious land use and how far cities must go when weighing neighborhood concerns against large institutional projects.
Next steps
All People’s Church bought the Del Cerro parcel in 2017 and has said it needs a larger permanent home to serve roughly 800 weekly attendees, court coverage notes. With the Superior Court decision now final, the church can begin pursuing permits and site reviews.
The timing for any construction will depend on how quickly permits are cleared and whether new legal papers hit the docket. Opponents say they are still weighing their options. In the meantime, the drawn-out fight has become a case study in San Diego’s ongoing tug-of-war between neighborhood character, traffic safety and the pressure to preserve land for housing.
